Virgin Records (record label)
Virgin Records, Ltd. is a record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell and Tom Newman in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, The Human League, Culture Club, Simple Minds, Lenny Kravitz, dc Talk, The Smashing Pumpkins, Mike Oldfield, Spice Girls and more on their list of artists. It was later sold to Thorn EMI in 1992. Its American operations were merged with Capitol Records in 2007 to create the Capitol Music Group. Currently owned by Universal Music Group after its purchase of EMI in 2012, UMG Group after its purchase of EMI in 2012, UMG reorganised its British operations to create Virgin EMI Records on March 2013, which absorbed Mercury Records UK. Subsidiary labels Current * In 1983 Virgin purchased Charisma Records, renaming it Charisma/Virgin, then later Virgin/Charisma, before folding the label in 1986 and transferring its remaining artists to Virgin. In the process they acquired Genesis and comedy group Monty Python. The Charisma label was reactivated in the US in 1990 and enjoyed success with signings such as Maxi Priest, Right Said Fred, 38 Special and Enigma. When this Charisma label was retired in 1992, all of its artists were, as before, transferred to Virgin. * In 1987, Venture Records was created for new age and modern classical artists including Klaus Schulze, who had been associated with Virgin since the early 1970s. (Virgin had distributed UK editions of his German albums since 1974, and he had almost been signed as a Virgin artist in 1976, but the deal was cancelled after a conflict between Virgin and his German label.) * 10 Records * Immortal Records (record label) * Delabel (France) * Relentless Records Former * Caroline Records was a budget label used from 1973 to 1977. The name and logo were later used for some American editions of Virgin records in the 1980s and 1990s. * Front Line Records (or Virgin's Front Line) was a label for issuing Jamaican and English reggae music from 1978 to approximately 1987. It became an actual label name in 1978 when it succeeded a category of Virgin albums and singles marketed as "The Front line Series" which went back to 1976, when a reggae compilation album titled The Front Line was issued on Virgin. Front Line artists included U-Roy, U Brown, The Mighty Diamonds, Keith Hudson, Althea and Donna, Jah Lloyd, Johnny Clarke, The Gladiators, Peter Tosh, I Roy, Tappa Zukie, Sly Dunbar, The Twinkle Brothers, Prince Far I, Big Youth, The Abyssinians, Culture, Gregory Isaacs and Linton Kwesi Johnson. * A short-lived associated label, Dindisc, had Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and The Monochrome Set during its brief existence (1980–1981), after which its recordings became part of Virgin's catalogue. * Noo Trybe Records (record label) was a hip hop record label that existed from 1994–1999. The label consisted of mostly West Coast hip hop artists such as the Luniz. The label also became the distributor for releases under Rap-A-Lot Records (record label) after they switched distribution from Virgin's sister label under EMI, Priority Records in 1994. Noo Trybe also became the home of East Coast rappers AZ and Gang Starr after their respective labels EMI and Chrysalis were folded in early 1997. List of Rappers on the label * List of Rap Groups on the label * Discography Studio albums * August 19, 2003: Pimpin' Ain't Dead (Do or Die album) Links * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loud_Records See Also * List of major labels * List of Hip-Hop record labels * Virgin Records (record label) Category:Major record labels Category:Wikipedia Category:Unfinish pages Category:Unfinish record labels